


Downside Up

by Fighting4Fandoms



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven and Mike Wheeler are Cute, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Mpreg, Parental Steve Harrington, Protective Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-02-01 11:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12704019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fighting4Fandoms/pseuds/Fighting4Fandoms
Summary: If being beaten to a pulp by a psychopath wasn't bad enough, Steve had an even bigger problem and he couldn't hide it any longer.





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> I love Steve's development as a character and I think he turned into a big old mama bear, anyways enjoy and I don't own Stranger Things... fortunately for you guys.

Steve leaned against the baseball bat, his injuries finally catching up and the adrenaline dying. He closed his eyes for a second, mentally begging for the world to stop spinning. He opened his eyes again and saw Dustin looking at him.  
"Steve, you okay?" Dustin asked, with a hint of worry seeping through.  
Steve nodded weakly," Yeah, just dizzy." He looked over to the others. They were putting everything back into the trunk. He looked back to Dustin but he was already making his way to Billy's car. Steve followed behind. After sluggishly putting the baseball bat in the car, Steve had to brace himself by putting a hand on the side of the car. He closed his eyes and felt a small but sharp pain in his stomach. It must've been from when Billy slammed his feet into him. 'Fucking psycho' Steve thought to himself.  
When the pain passed, Steve instantly forgot about it and went into the car. He didn't care if Max drove again. His head was splitting and he simply wanted to forget about everything. Okay, not everything, just the bad things. He sat in between Mike and Dustin again. About 15 minutes had passed when the pain came back but he didn't make a noise, Steve simply closed his eyes again. He had hoped it went unnoticed... it didn't 

Dustin saw Steve close his eyes and kept a watchful eye on him whilst on the way back to the Byers house. He used to think that Steve Harrington was a complete douche, a dickhead, but now his whole view on the guy changed. Steve had risked his life for them, even if he called the kids 'dipshits'. Steve stood in between Billy and Lucas and Dustin was pretty sure the guy got confused from the plate that crashed down on his head. Dustin knew that Steve was stubborn so he wouldn't ask again but that couldn't mean that he wasn't allowed to keep a watchful eye on his new friend.  
Since Max was driving slower this time, it meant that Dustin could keep a close watch on Steve without the risk f almost dying by driving straight into a wall or something. Dustin noticed that Steve kept his eyes closed the whole time throughout the drive back. His eyes widened when he saw Steve clench his hand so tightly that it was going white. Clearly Steve was in a lot of pain. Why the hell wouldn't he say anything? 

Just as Max turned a sharp corner, Steve felt another pain but this one was so much worse than the previous ones. He couldn't help but let loose a cry of pain.  
Dustin, obviously became instantly worried. "Steve!" the boy cried out." What's wrong!?"  
Steve groaned and curled in on himself, "I don't know." He managed to groan out. "It hurts."  
Dustin turned in his seat, he saw Mike's widened eyes and couldn't help but begin to feel scared." What hurts?"  
Steve shook his head, "I don't know." Dustin turned and saw Lucas glancing at the mirror with a worried and bewildered expression.  
"We haven't got that long to go." Lucas informed. "So, just hang in there Steve."  
Steve nodded and curled in closer to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a long, deep breath. Max decided that keeping at a steady speed was no longer an option and accelerated. When the pain passed, Steve leaned back against the seat and unwillingly passed out.

"Shit..."Dustin sighed. He pulled Steve's body up so that he was leaned against him. He saw the blood seeing through the rainbow plasters that were on his face and his stomach churned. He didn't heave when he saw Dart eat Mews but this was a time when he wished it was all a dream... but it wasn't and he didn't have a fucking clue about what he should do.  
*  
Eleven sat in the living room of the Byers house, staring out through the window. Hopper was sitting on the sofa, contemplating, so Eleven just continued to look outside. She was scared when they came back and Mike wasn't here. Hopper got annoyed but he said he wasn't surprised to find anyone here, well... he did get slightly pissed when he saw the unconscious form of Billy Hargrove on the floor with a syringe poking out his neck. Anyway, Eleven didn't know what to think. She had spent so many days and nights think, dreaming, of when she would see Mike again and when she did she felt lighter than air.  
She lifted her fingers and gently pulled them through her hair, Eleven quite liked having longer hair. The last time she did, she was only a little girl but that place was the only 'home' she had ever known. Would she ever see Kali again? Or Papa? She didn't know. What mattered now was that she was back in Hawkins where she belonged. Back with Hopper... and back with Mike. 

With all these thoughts rushing through her head, it was a wonder that she was keeping still. Still, it was nice to think of happy memories. Eleven would be able to talk with her friends and Mike would be blew to take her to the Snow Ball. And...  
A sound of the call pulling in to the driveway caused her to pause and breakaway from her thoughts. Her head turned to Hopper, who was already on his fee and going towards the door. He could hear incoherent shouting and before he made it to the door, it slammed against the wall, causing Eleven to jump to her feet. Lucas, Max and Mike crashed through the door.  
They began shouting over the top of each other.  
"Quiet!" Hopper shouted above them. "You. Explain." He gestured to Lucas, who then began to talk.  
"Right. So Max's stepbrother came and tried to beat us up. Steve got in between us and he got beat pretty bad." He paused with Mike and Max nodding in agreement with him. "He said..."  
Before Lucas could carry on with his explanation a great groan sounded from outside. Hopper immediately went to investigate. He rushed outside and saw a passenger seat open. Steve was once again curled up around himself but Dustin was rubbing circles in his back with a worried expression on his face. Hopper saw all the cuts and bruises on his face and reminded himself to sort out the Hargrove boy. He gestured for Dustin to get out of the car then went to the side where it would be easier to get Steve out. Hopper lifted the battered teen out of the car. He frowned when Steve moaned in his arms from him jostling him about. Steve's head lolled against Hopper's chest, causing some blood to get onto the Chief's shirt.  
He carried the boy into the house and set him on the sofa. He knelt beside him.  
"Where does it hurt?" He sympathetically inquired.  
Steve tried to speak but the pain was to much so he only let loose few groans of pain.  
"Show me."  
Steve gestured to his stomach. Hopper pulled up the teen's shirt and saw a couple of purple bruises. He swore in anger at the sight of them. Carefully, he placed his hand on his stomach. He felt around but he couldn't find any sign of broken ribs, which was good, but what he did find caused his eyes to widen and to gulp in fear.  
"Okay..." He shakily whispered to himself. Slowly turning his gaze to the kids, he got up and walked over to them. 

"Is he okay?" Dustin asked with fear clearly being shown.  
Hopper didn't actually know how to answer that. "I don't know but you lot need to got and find blankets, towels, a big bowl of hot water and sterilized scissors." He ordered. They nodded albeit with bewilderment and went off. Hopper went back over to he sofa and knelt back down. Steve suddenly gasped, Hopper took his hand in his own. "Hold it tight as you want." He said with reassurance. Steve frantically nodded and tightly held onto the older man's hand, tightly squeezing his eyes shut. He groaned in pain and some tears were forcing their way out from behind his bruised eyelids. The pain was getting worse and he was finding it harder to keep the pain under control. Hopper realised this and decided to get shit done. "Listen, don't feel like you have to try and control it. If you feel like you need to scream then scream. They'll be okay." Steve nodded, "What's wrong with me?" Hopper sighed and used his free hand to run it through his hair. He didn't want to completely traumatise the boy but he couldn't sugarloaf this either. "You're having a baby." Steve's eyes widened in fear. "It's going to hurt, I'm not going to lie, but don't worry. It's going t okay." Steve nodded and lowly groaned when the next contraction came. It was going to be a long night... *

Joyce cradled Will to he chest as they drove back to their house. Hopefully everything would go back to normal now. She was going to miss Bob but she would never ever forget him. He died saving them and he would always love them. As they neared their home she could hear screaming. As soon as they pulled up, Joyce help Will get into the house with Nancy an Jonathan trailing behind.  
"That sounds like...."  
"Steve!?" Nancy squeaked as they saw the bloodied sight of Steve. He was on the floor with towels underneath and him leaning against the sofa. His face was bloodied and tears were trickling down his face. Hopper was situated in front of Steve's open legs, with blood staining his hands red. Mike ran to Will and took him off Joyce, leading the boy to where everyone else was sitting anxiously. Just as Steve was about to speak, he broke himself off with a loud cream. He painfully arched his beck and gripped the towel underneath him, until his knuckles turned a ghostly shade of white. Nancy sprung into action by kneeling next to Steve and brushing a few stray locks out of his face. She felt guilty these past few days after what she said to him so this was a simple way t make it up to him. Joyce left the room for a moment but quickly returned with a cold, wet rag. She dabbed it across the labouring teen's head. 

Jonathan felt extremely awkward in that moment. It wasn't because Nancy was next to Steve. He just felt so useless. He went over to the kids and sat next to his brother. Will looked at him, smiled, then leant against him and closed his eyes. He sure did get that job right.  
Eleven sat next to Mike and he took his hand in hers. No one had a proper idea of how much he loved her and how much he missed her for three hundred and fifty three days. It was too long but he won't wait that long again.  
They all winced as they heard Steve scream again. What scared everyone though was when Steve paused and closed his eyes.  
In an almost silent voice, he said, "I need to push."


	2. Pain is Temporary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After coming to terms what is about to happen, Steve can honestly say he's had enough for one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos so far! And I don't own this.

Everyone in the room either turned pale, started to tremble or both. Hopper steadied himself and remained calm. He looked in between Steve's legs and saw that Steve was indeed ready to push, this baby wasn't hanging about any longer. Steve took that moment to turn away his head and he caught a glimpse of Dustin's worried expression.  
"I'm sorry." His quiet voice trembled.

Nancy looked at him with a look of sympathy drawn onto her face. She noted the way he was shaking and put an arm around him and took one of his hands into her own.  
"You've got nothing to be sorry about." She kissed his forehead. "I'm the one who's supposed to apologize. I'm so sorry about what I said." Steve looked up at her.  
"You looked after all them and put yourself in front of them. That's selfless." She smiled and stroked his brown locks.  
Steve gritted his teeth as he pushed again. 

Mike still had his hand in Eleven's as they all sat there in an awkward silence, listening to Steve's groans and screams of pain. He was unsure of the guy at first but after tonight... he saw his sister's ex in a new light. He wasn't the complete douche he was last year. He put himself in front of everyone else and totally saved his life. Mike was grateful for that. He noted how Eleven would wince when Steve screamed. Mike held on tighter to Eleven to which she looked up at him. She gently laid her head on his shoulder, then Mike laid his on top of hers, their hands still laced together. 

Steve gripped tighter onto Nancy's hand as he pushed. It really hurt. How the fuck did he not realise he was pregnant? He hoped his baby was okay. If Billy hurt it, he was gonna kick his ass so hard that the motherfucker saw stars. He looked up to the ceiling as he felt the baby move down. It felt strange but it distracted him from the pain of his injuries that he sustained earlier that night. Not going to lie, he felt really awkward about having the kids in the same room let alone having Hopper in between his legs. He wasn't going to mention this. Ever.  
Suddenly he felt like he was on fire. Steve screamed louder than he ever had, tightly clenching his eyes shut and gripping Nancy's hand in an immensely strong hold.  
"Okay. You're crowning, all right. Don't push." Easier said that done. "Just blow." Steve did so, groaning very loudly.  
Hopper grabbed a blanket from the pile next to him. "Right. Push."  
"Fuck!" He shouted, not caring if he swore now. That's the least thing he could do.

"It's okay, shh..." Nancy was a great support right now, but he knew Jonathan felt really out of place ... he did too.  
"I think I'm gonna be sick." He rushed a hand to his mouth and turned to his side just as Joyce placed a bowl there. He promptly threw up. Nancy rubbed soothing circles into his back as he threw up into the bowl. If he wasn't in so much pain, he would've grimaced at the sight of the contents what just came out of him. He lifted his head back up and panted in exhaustion. He was so tired. Another contraction came and he wailed. Steve wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, he had never been this embarrassed before in his life. He felt the width of the baby's head pass through and he sighed when Hopper announced the head was out. "Head's out." He gave a reassuring face to Steve. "You're doing great."

Hopper took Steve's free hand and guided it towards the baby's head. Through the pain, Steve smiled when he touched his chills head. For once, he felt like he had done something right. Hopper glanced at Steve's face and it mirrored the way he first looked at his Sara. Steve moved his hand away when he felt another contraction overcome him. He let loose a wild shriek as the shoulders began to push through.  
"huh.... shit. Shit..."Steve mumbled as he pushed again. He brought his chin to his chest and cried when the shoulders came through. The rest was easier after that. 

With one final scream, the baby tumbled into Hopper's waiting hands, screeching as loud as her father. Joyce stroked Steve's head and Nancy kissed Steve on the cheek. Steve was catching his breath but smiled at the sound of his baby's first cries.  
Hopper lifted the baby to see Steve. With a smile, "It's a girl."

The baby was pink and covered in blood. Hopper wrapped her in a towel and gently passed her to Steve. His eyes were weary but he couldn't stop looking at his daughter. She was quiet now she was in Steve's arms, her mother's hold calmed her. When hs stomach contracted again, his eyes widened and he lowly groaned, closing his eyes.  
"It's okay." Hopper's calming tone assured him. "Just the placenta." Which he caught in a towel. Joyce crouched beside Hopper and helped him clear away the mess. Nancy let go of Steve's hand and looked down at the baby. "She's beautiful.' She cooed.  
"Yeah, she is." Steve said without realising he was talking, his new born bewitched him. She got up from he feet and went over to Jonathan. Steve remained on the floor with his baby in his arms. He gently rocked her until she fell sleep.  
Joyce approached Steve and sat on the floor next to him. "Are you okay sweetie?"  
Steve nodded but felt dizzy. "I feel dizzy but I did get a plate crashed through my head."  
"You might have concussion." She noted with a hint of worry laced into her throat.  
"I'm okay..." He said weakly. She nodded, not truly fine with that answer.  
"You've just had a baby, and were beaten up. Time for sleep." She looked over to the sofa. You can have-"  
"My bed." Jonathan butted in. "You can't sleep on the sofa."  
"Are you sure?" Steve inquired.  
Jonathan nodded. "Yeah of course. It's the least I can do."  
"Where will you sleep?" Joyce asked.  
He looked to the sofa. "I'll sleep there."  
Joyce nodded then went put of the room, quickly coming back with blankets. "Okay guys." Gesturing to Mike, Eleven, Max, Dustin and Lucas. "I'm guessing you guys are staying here, so use these an I'll just go and get some pillows."  
Will looked to his mum, "Can I stay in here?"  
Joyce reluctantly said yes, knowing it wouldn't be fair to separate the friends up.  
"Okay, it's late and everyone should go and get some sleep."  
Hopper went over to Steve and covered his lower half in a blanket. The teen was already half asleep and there was no way that he was letting him walk to the bed. He massed the sleeping baby to Nancy and lifted Steve into a bridal hold. He pushed the door to Jonathan's bedroom open and placed Steve on the bed. Carefully he pulled the sheets over him and placed the baby, from Nancy, beside him. He didn't want to separate them up.  
Nancy and Hopper returned to the living room and found everyone asleep in one form or another. The two found their own place to sleep and did so in a few moments of lying on the floor.


	3. Snow Ball Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's one month later, and Steve is not just the group's babysitter but he's also a single parent. It's not bothering him though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, well it's been a while since I've updated on this one, sorry about that! So now it's the final chapter. If you do want me to make a sequel let me know and I'll try and do one :)

One Month Later

Steve waited in his car for Dustin. He looked over to the back and saw Baby Gracie sleeping in her carrier. He smiled then turned back into his own seat. The bruises and cuts from his face had healed up nicely, and he hadn't seen Billy Hargrove properly yet. Not many people knew about Gracie and Steve felt glad about that. He wasn't out of high school yet.  
He smiled as he saw Dustin make his way out of his house. He was kind of pleased that he had such a good bond with him, he was like his little brother. Dustin opened the car door and sat in slowly and quietly to try and not wake up Gracie.

"Hey," Dustin whispered.

Steve nodded. "You look great."

Dustin smiled and puts his thumbs up. "How long has she been asleep?"

"Since I put her in." He laughed under his breath.

"She better not fall asleep at the wheel when she's older."

Dustin nodded. "You never know, she might be playing baseball."

"If I see her with a bat with nails in. You know who I'll blame." Steve started to drive off.

The last Snow Ball he went was one when he was still with Nancy but she was with Jonathan now. He didn't care too much, he just hoped that he treated her right. He probably does though, to be fair. He looked over to Dustin and saw that he was a bag of nerves. He had no idea why Dustin was so nervous. So, when he pulled up to the school he pulled back Dustin before the kid got out of the car. Now, for a few words of encouragement. 

"Don't worry, you look like a billion bucks." He turned the mirror down, "Remember what I said? Act like-"

"I don't care" 

"You don't care. I swear you'll win the girls with that." He nodded with a smile. Dustin began to get out of the car but before he closed the door, Steve bid him adieu. He watched as the kid walked into the hall. Steve sat like that for a moment. He looked at his watch, he would have to be back before the dance ended. He said he would take Dustin back home once the dance had finished. 

He took a quick peek to the back of the car and saw Gracie still fast asleep, now that Dustin was gone he got out of the car and took out Gracie's baby seat. He didn't care if he saw people look at him, he was focused just on his daughter. He moved slowly and carefully as not to awake her from her sleep. Although, it was probably a bad idea for her to be asleep because she'll keep him up during the night. Sure, he got no sleep, but she was worth it... sometimes. Other times he is way too tired. He studied her face. She was so beautiful. 

From the moment she was born, Steve was trying to think who the father may have been and it took him a long time to figure out a suspect. He wasn't sure if this particular person was the right one but he couldn't think of anyone else. About 9/10 months ago there was an exchange school from Derry and this guy ... may have slept together during a joint party with the two schools. A few drinks and ... Yeah, it sounds right. What was his name again? Harry? No. It was Henry. That sounds right. 

Henry. 

Steve doubted he would see him again. It felt wrong to let him know he could be his daughter's father. Steve had no idea on how to contact him either. Maybe it didn't matter... 

Steve put Gracie in the front passenger seat, next to him. He took a moment to look at her sleeping face. This would be the person he would have to look after. He didn't think he would be a father so soon, it was kind of his fault. He was quite responsible about it though but he would ask for help from time to time from the party, Joyce and Hopper. He was still a kid himself. Everyone helped him though. Sometimes he felt the world crush him so that he suffocated under the struggle but someone would always be there to pick him up and dust him down. 

Having all these people around him helped him and for once, Steve actually had a caring family albeit they were slightly strange. Then again, Steve knew stranger things. 

Steve looked through the open door of the hall one more time before driving off into the moonlight.


End file.
